I’ve been on the internet so long that I’ve found myself wanting to understand it. To know what’s real and how to keep a hold of it.

The dead internet theory has been poured like concrete across my browsing history and as it hardens I become more uncertain if what I consume is truly my own. Nowadays, everything feels like marketing and all I scroll through is advertising, both labelled and covert.

It appears search engines are being de-optimised to further popularise AI amongst the general population. The same AI where both answers and references can be falsified and its recommended option can be brought like ad space.

Music labels & artists are paying for bot engagement and fanfare to create the illusion of fame on the public stage. The kicker is that it works too, it’s now a legitimate marketing strategy to use bots to create a celebrity.

We’ve entered into neo-feudalism and it’s fruited dead internet in all mainstream spaces. The highest bidder and the deepest pockets are now closing in on users entire online experiences at the expense of pushing out genuine connection and community.

So, Toni is Online. Not a product, not a bot account, not a conglomerate disguised as a person. It’s something that I know is real because I built it myself and I hope others will see it for that too. If not for my candor then because writing all this down isn’t brand-friendly and therefore can’t be sponsored.

I think that these spaces are the answer to the problems I’ve listed above. A return to early-internet feels like a step in the right direction. Back to where connections formed by word of mouth or referrals or stumbling upon something that just felt genuine and wasn’t fed to you by an algorithm.

I’m not sure what the antidote is, or if there even is one but I like building this and I especially like looking around and seeing other real people online.